Baltimore N-400 Timeline
- Thread starter Future-American
- Start date
Hey guys!!!!
I was having some posting problems (when I click "submit reply" button , the screen would jump to another one, where it says that I am not logged in and my post would be gone
. Let's see I am more lucky this time.
I had my interview on Thursday, Jan 19th at 1:20 pm.
Checked in at 12.45 pm and waited until 3 pm and then my name was finally called in. The officer was proffesional, strictly down to subject and very, very fast and efficient.
I was sworn to tell the truth, and the she asked for DL, GC and passport. Then she went over my N-400, rushing down the questions, when she came to travel outside US she just glanced at my passport ( I had only one 30 days trip total) and kept on going. At Selective Service question she saw that I was registered so she just glanced at my registration card.
When done with N-400 (I was asked every question though) , she gave me test, 6 standard questions, 1 sentence to read , 1 to write. After that she told me congratulations, your application is approved. She gave me then form N-652 with 2 fields checked off : field " you passed English/Civic Test" and field "Congratulations, your application has been recommended for approval". I asked why recommended, and she said it is the standard saying on that form. I also saw when she put a big red stamp on my application saying "approved". She told me that I should hear up to 1 month for oath ceremony.
All in all , everything went very fast. The interview lasted for 7-max 10 minutes.
The officer was strictly focused on the case, no chance of talking to her about anything else but trying to keep up with her questions. Sorry kaynags she did not let me even ask her about if speeding tickets should be declared generally.
I was a bit disappointed that I could not have same day oath , but what can you do. Hopefully I will be scheduled soon for the ceremony.
Many thanks to people of this forum for their support , time and effort they took and spent, and to all of you still waiting Good Luck!!!!!!!
I was having some posting problems (when I click "submit reply" button , the screen would jump to another one, where it says that I am not logged in and my post would be gone
. Let's see I am more lucky this time.I had my interview on Thursday, Jan 19th at 1:20 pm.
Checked in at 12.45 pm and waited until 3 pm and then my name was finally called in. The officer was proffesional, strictly down to subject and very, very fast and efficient.
I was sworn to tell the truth, and the she asked for DL, GC and passport. Then she went over my N-400, rushing down the questions, when she came to travel outside US she just glanced at my passport ( I had only one 30 days trip total) and kept on going. At Selective Service question she saw that I was registered so she just glanced at my registration card.
When done with N-400 (I was asked every question though) , she gave me test, 6 standard questions, 1 sentence to read , 1 to write. After that she told me congratulations, your application is approved. She gave me then form N-652 with 2 fields checked off : field " you passed English/Civic Test" and field "Congratulations, your application has been recommended for approval". I asked why recommended, and she said it is the standard saying on that form. I also saw when she put a big red stamp on my application saying "approved". She told me that I should hear up to 1 month for oath ceremony.
All in all , everything went very fast. The interview lasted for 7-max 10 minutes.
The officer was strictly focused on the case, no chance of talking to her about anything else but trying to keep up with her questions. Sorry kaynags she did not let me even ask her about if speeding tickets should be declared generally.
I was a bit disappointed that I could not have same day oath , but what can you do. Hopefully I will be scheduled soon for the ceremony.
Many thanks to people of this forum for their support , time and effort they took and spent, and to all of you still waiting Good Luck!!!!!!!
Thank you guys!!!!
No, I am not complaining about not being able to be sworn same day. One of those things you know. Would have been nice though.
I am sorry kaynags but like I said I really did not forget to ask, it went just so fast and my interviewing officer was only interested in my application and wanted to be done with it. Absolutely no chance to talk to her about anything else. She did not even give me a chance to ask
Question for you Ned Kelly if you don't mind: when did you get your Oath letter (how many days/weeks after interview) ?
Thanks again guys
No, I am not complaining about not being able to be sworn same day. One of those things you know. Would have been nice though.
I am sorry kaynags but like I said I really did not forget to ask, it went just so fast and my interviewing officer was only interested in my application and wanted to be done with it. Absolutely no chance to talk to her about anything else. She did not even give me a chance to ask
Question for you Ned Kelly if you don't mind: when did you get your Oath letter (how many days/weeks after interview) ?
Thanks again guys
johnathan said:Thank you guys!!!!
No, I am not complaining about not being able to be sworn same day. One of those things you know. Would have been nice though.
I am sorry kaynags but like I said I really did not forget to ask, it went just so fast and my interviewing officer was only interested in my application and wanted to be done with it. Absolutely no chance to talk to her about anything else. She did not even give me a chance to ask
Question for you Ned Kelly if you don't mind: when did you get your Oath letter (how many days/weeks after interview) ?
Thanks again guys
Congrats! My interview was Dec 21st and I received the oath letter about 2 weeks later (on Jan 3rd or Jan 4th I believe). I go to be sworn in next week (Mon Jan 30th).
On speeding tickets, you definitely do have to declare them. My wife got one the very morning of her interview and brought it in with her to the interview later that day. The immigration officer who interviewed her told her she was right to bring it in because hiding it could result in them revoking US citizenship later. He amended her N400 form and got her to sign something indicating she would pay the fine - which she did.
If anyone has applied for USC and did not declare traffic violations on the N400, I would strongly suggest you bring the information (copies of tickets, court docs, receipts for any fines paid, etc) to your interview so that the immigration officer can amend your form. You'll regret it and worry about it for years afterwards if you're not 100% honest at the interview. They are not going to deny your application for a few speeding tickets - they will however be very interested to discover that someone knowingly withheld information from them.
Good luck everyone.
Hi again guys!!!
As you already know, I am waiting for my Oath Ceremony to be scheduled . And as every day passes and no letter I am getting a bit nervous ( I guess you guys understand) and would like to know, what happens in case you miss Oath Ceremony (e.g. mail gets lost)?
Does Oath letter states like FP notice in case you do not show up your case will be closed or considered abanndoned ? Or what are qonsequences of missing oath ceremony?
I'd certainly appreciate your answer.
Thank you!!!!
As you already know, I am waiting for my Oath Ceremony to be scheduled . And as every day passes and no letter I am getting a bit nervous ( I guess you guys understand) and would like to know, what happens in case you miss Oath Ceremony (e.g. mail gets lost)?
Does Oath letter states like FP notice in case you do not show up your case will be closed or considered abanndoned ? Or what are qonsequences of missing oath ceremony?
I'd certainly appreciate your answer.
Thank you!!!!
johnathan said:
I don't know what is typical but, as I said, I received my oath letter about 2 weeks after my interview in December even though I was told at the interview that I would hear in "2 to 4 months but more likely within 2 months". My oath ceremony is tomorrow (Monday).
I know it's difficult but be patient - you're almost there. I wouldn't start getting worried unless you haven't heard from them within 2 months of your interview. However, I expect that you'll hear from them very soon.
The oath letter states:
"If you cannot come to this ceremony, return this notice immediately and state why you cannot appear. In such case, you will be sent another notice of ceremony at a later date. You must appear at an oath ceremony to complete the naturalization process."
On the back it has some questions you must answer. Basically they want to know if anything has changed since the time you were interviewed (e.g. travel outside the US, crimes committed, marriage changes etc.)
If a letter was lost in the mail (and you therefore missed your oath ceremony), I doubt very much that they would abandon your application immediately. It would make sense for them to try to contact you again - either via mail or phone.
Good luck!
Ned
Filining US Citizenship in June 2006
I wil be eligible to file for US Citizenship in June 2006. The 5 years after GC complete in Sept 2006. I wanted to inquire from folks on this forum if there is anything I need to be aware of in particular. I have all documents and certificates. I came to the country when I was 25 yrs old on H1B visa. So, I could not register with Selective Service. Will that be an issue? I never got a ticket from a law enforcement officer except a speed violation from an automated m/c. I don't have that ticket with me anylonger. Please let me know if I need to know something.
Also, how long does it take to process the N-400 application through Vermont Service Center and Baltimore District Office. Does the test, interview and oath happen on the same day? Do I get the naturalization certificate on the same day. If I have immediate travel requirements within a week to 15 days can I get the US passport at such a short notice? Please let me know if you have any information.
Thanks.
I wil be eligible to file for US Citizenship in June 2006. The 5 years after GC complete in Sept 2006. I wanted to inquire from folks on this forum if there is anything I need to be aware of in particular. I have all documents and certificates. I came to the country when I was 25 yrs old on H1B visa. So, I could not register with Selective Service. Will that be an issue? I never got a ticket from a law enforcement officer except a speed violation from an automated m/c. I don't have that ticket with me anylonger. Please let me know if I need to know something.
Also, how long does it take to process the N-400 application through Vermont Service Center and Baltimore District Office. Does the test, interview and oath happen on the same day? Do I get the naturalization certificate on the same day. If I have immediate travel requirements within a week to 15 days can I get the US passport at such a short notice? Please let me know if you have any information.
Thanks.
Oath experience
I was sworn in as a US citizen today in Baltimore. Just thought some of you may be interested in my experience.
Oath letter said to arrive promptly in room 101 at 9am. I arrived at the building at 8:35am. I went through security - had to show my oath letter and a form of ID (showed my driver's license). I arrived at room 101 at 8:40am and the guy sitting at the table outside the room checked my oath letter and told me to take a seat in room 101 and wait until the group is called at 9am. He said NOT to check in at any of the windows in room 101 - just take a seat. While I was waiting, I saw several people try to check in (despite what he said) and sure enough they were told just to sit down and wait. So don't try to check in - you're wasting your time.
The room was steadily filling up and a couple of minutes after 9am a couple of immigration officers came to bring the group up to the 7th floor (room 750) for the oath ceremony.
Once in room 750, everyone was told to turn off all cell phones or put them on vibrate. Everyone then lined up to hand in their green card and the oath letter (with the section on the back completed - don't forget to do this before you go). While I was in line to get to the table, an officer checked my completed oath letter and green card and also asked me if anything had changed since my interview (e.g. marriage changes, travel outside the country, crimes, speeding tickets, change in willingness to bear arms, etc). I then went to the table where they took my completed oath letter and green card and checked my name off on the list. I was also shown my Certificate of Naturalization (CoN) and asked to check it for errors. Everything was OK so I was asked to sit down again and wait for the ceremony to begin (I was not given the CoN at this point - just shown it and asked to check it for errors).
This part of the process (collecting completed oath letters, green cards and checking CoN's) took quite a bit of time. Obviously no-one had been interviewed that day (since it was an early morning oath ceremony) and some of them did have changes to report since their interviews - one guy had gotten married, another had been arrested, etc. Some people reported errors on the CoN's (e.g. the guy who got married had the wrong marriage status). Also, some people who were scheduled to appear did not show - I think I heard one of the officers say that 65 of 71 showed up.
Anyway, after that everyone was seated and the ceremony began. After taking the oath we were congratulated and told we had just become citizens. We watched a video from the President congratulating us. We were called up individually and given our CoN's. Can't remember what came first to be honest - I think it was the video.
Some people did not receive their CoN's at that time because they had errors and needed to be corrected - however, they were still citizens as they had taken the oath. These people (about 10 or 12 of them I would guess) were taken downstairs after the ceremony to room 103 to be issued corrected CoN's. Everyone else was free to go.
We completed the oath (and officially became US citizens!) at 9:54am. We were all out of the room around 10:10am. Anyone who had any questions could stay behind and ask them. That was it! Big relief! Hang in there, guys. Your time will come.
Ned
I was sworn in as a US citizen today in Baltimore. Just thought some of you may be interested in my experience.
Oath letter said to arrive promptly in room 101 at 9am. I arrived at the building at 8:35am. I went through security - had to show my oath letter and a form of ID (showed my driver's license). I arrived at room 101 at 8:40am and the guy sitting at the table outside the room checked my oath letter and told me to take a seat in room 101 and wait until the group is called at 9am. He said NOT to check in at any of the windows in room 101 - just take a seat. While I was waiting, I saw several people try to check in (despite what he said) and sure enough they were told just to sit down and wait. So don't try to check in - you're wasting your time.
The room was steadily filling up and a couple of minutes after 9am a couple of immigration officers came to bring the group up to the 7th floor (room 750) for the oath ceremony.
Once in room 750, everyone was told to turn off all cell phones or put them on vibrate. Everyone then lined up to hand in their green card and the oath letter (with the section on the back completed - don't forget to do this before you go). While I was in line to get to the table, an officer checked my completed oath letter and green card and also asked me if anything had changed since my interview (e.g. marriage changes, travel outside the country, crimes, speeding tickets, change in willingness to bear arms, etc). I then went to the table where they took my completed oath letter and green card and checked my name off on the list. I was also shown my Certificate of Naturalization (CoN) and asked to check it for errors. Everything was OK so I was asked to sit down again and wait for the ceremony to begin (I was not given the CoN at this point - just shown it and asked to check it for errors).
This part of the process (collecting completed oath letters, green cards and checking CoN's) took quite a bit of time. Obviously no-one had been interviewed that day (since it was an early morning oath ceremony) and some of them did have changes to report since their interviews - one guy had gotten married, another had been arrested, etc. Some people reported errors on the CoN's (e.g. the guy who got married had the wrong marriage status). Also, some people who were scheduled to appear did not show - I think I heard one of the officers say that 65 of 71 showed up.
Anyway, after that everyone was seated and the ceremony began. After taking the oath we were congratulated and told we had just become citizens. We watched a video from the President congratulating us. We were called up individually and given our CoN's. Can't remember what came first to be honest - I think it was the video.
Some people did not receive their CoN's at that time because they had errors and needed to be corrected - however, they were still citizens as they had taken the oath. These people (about 10 or 12 of them I would guess) were taken downstairs after the ceremony to room 103 to be issued corrected CoN's. Everyone else was free to go.
We completed the oath (and officially became US citizens!) at 9:54am. We were all out of the room around 10:10am. Anyone who had any questions could stay behind and ask them. That was it! Big relief! Hang in there, guys. Your time will come.
Ned
Last edited by a moderator:
Congrats Ned_Kelly! And thank you for sharing your experience in detail. It helps all of us who are next in line!
I'm getting ready for my interview on the 8th. I have just started putting together all the documentation.
Le1228, I remember your interview is also on the same day! Good Luck for your interview!
I will post my interview experience as soon as I can.
I'm getting ready for my interview on the 8th. I have just started putting together all the documentation.
Le1228, I remember your interview is also on the same day! Good Luck for your interview!
I will post my interview experience as soon as I can.
ateganda29
Registered Users (C)
hello everybody!
just want to give you details on my interview on tuesday, january 31st. sorry that i'm just now posting my experience. i've been so busy these past couple of days that i haven't had the chance to log onto this forum. anyhow, here goes...
my interview was scheduled for tuesday, january 31st, at 0840H. according to the letter, i was to show up at rm 103 of the federal fallon building. i got there 0830H due to the bad traffic on the way and it was raining that morning. i checked in at the reception area. the lady took my appointment letter and advised me to have a seat until i was called. there were a lot of people already waiting ahead of me. at 0925H, i was called. i went and followed my USCIS officer to her office. we did the usual pleasantries. then she asked for my passport, green card, and driver's license. i handed them all to her. her basis of her 'interview' was just verifying what i had put on the application. while she was going through the questions, i took out the letter that proves i took and passed the english/civic test (i took it the same time i had my fingerprint taken). then, like in cue, she verified that i took the english/civic test. i said 'yes' and handed her the letter. she put it with the rest of my file. then, she asked me if i would like to be a part of their daily oath ceremony at 1500H that day. i said 'yes'. with that, she filled out the form and checked off that i took and passed the english/civic test and that i'm being congratulated because my application is being recommended for approval. she asked me to print my full name on the bottom part of my N-400 application. she said she knows it's asking for signature. but she wants my full name printed out instead. also asked me to print my full name on both pictures. then she gave me the form that says to report back at 1500H in room 101 for the oath ceremony. she also mentioned that it's recommended that people get there at 1445H. and that was it. i was out of her office in 5 minutes. she was very precise, professional, and very friendly. i didn't feel that i was under scrutiny or anything.
at 1430H, i was back at the federal fallon building and went straight to room 101. i was instructed to enter the room and have a seat. asked not to fall in line. i did as i was told. at around 1505H, we were ushered to the 7th floor conference room for the oath ceremony. there were 45 people that will be taking their oath that day. once inside the room, we were asked to fall in line to surrender our green card and the form that was given in the interview. everyone was asked if we were detained by a police officer since the interview, which was that morning. so if you're answer is 'no', then you'll proceed to surrender your green card and the paper. if you said 'yes', then they will ask you to go with another officer to a different room. after that, we stood up for the national anthem. then a few more speeches and then all 45 of us stood up to take the oath, afterwhich, we were congratulated for being the newest citizens of the United States of America. everyone clapped in the room. then everyone recited the pledge of allegiance then we watched a short message from President George W. Bush. then they called out each name to pick up their certificate. incidentally, i was called out first out of all 45 applicants Ü. checked everything and made sure that everything was correct. we were told that we need to do that and if we find any errors, they will be able to correct it that same day. and if everything is good, we can leave. i double and triple checked mine to make sure that it's perfect. and it was. so i left the room as a brand new US citizen.
i was really impressed with my whole experience. my whole processing time, from when they received my application to interview/oath ceremony is a whopping 3.5 months!!!
well, i 'ope my interview/oath experience will be of help. i tried to be as detailed as possible of what happened to give you guys an idea of what to expect when it's your turn. well, good luck to everyone. i will definitely still be around to help answer questions that i know the answers to. this forum is very informative and it's because of everyone sharing their knowledge and experiences for everyone's information.
just want to give you details on my interview on tuesday, january 31st. sorry that i'm just now posting my experience. i've been so busy these past couple of days that i haven't had the chance to log onto this forum. anyhow, here goes...
my interview was scheduled for tuesday, january 31st, at 0840H. according to the letter, i was to show up at rm 103 of the federal fallon building. i got there 0830H due to the bad traffic on the way and it was raining that morning. i checked in at the reception area. the lady took my appointment letter and advised me to have a seat until i was called. there were a lot of people already waiting ahead of me. at 0925H, i was called. i went and followed my USCIS officer to her office. we did the usual pleasantries. then she asked for my passport, green card, and driver's license. i handed them all to her. her basis of her 'interview' was just verifying what i had put on the application. while she was going through the questions, i took out the letter that proves i took and passed the english/civic test (i took it the same time i had my fingerprint taken). then, like in cue, she verified that i took the english/civic test. i said 'yes' and handed her the letter. she put it with the rest of my file. then, she asked me if i would like to be a part of their daily oath ceremony at 1500H that day. i said 'yes'. with that, she filled out the form and checked off that i took and passed the english/civic test and that i'm being congratulated because my application is being recommended for approval. she asked me to print my full name on the bottom part of my N-400 application. she said she knows it's asking for signature. but she wants my full name printed out instead. also asked me to print my full name on both pictures. then she gave me the form that says to report back at 1500H in room 101 for the oath ceremony. she also mentioned that it's recommended that people get there at 1445H. and that was it. i was out of her office in 5 minutes. she was very precise, professional, and very friendly. i didn't feel that i was under scrutiny or anything.
at 1430H, i was back at the federal fallon building and went straight to room 101. i was instructed to enter the room and have a seat. asked not to fall in line. i did as i was told. at around 1505H, we were ushered to the 7th floor conference room for the oath ceremony. there were 45 people that will be taking their oath that day. once inside the room, we were asked to fall in line to surrender our green card and the form that was given in the interview. everyone was asked if we were detained by a police officer since the interview, which was that morning. so if you're answer is 'no', then you'll proceed to surrender your green card and the paper. if you said 'yes', then they will ask you to go with another officer to a different room. after that, we stood up for the national anthem. then a few more speeches and then all 45 of us stood up to take the oath, afterwhich, we were congratulated for being the newest citizens of the United States of America. everyone clapped in the room. then everyone recited the pledge of allegiance then we watched a short message from President George W. Bush. then they called out each name to pick up their certificate. incidentally, i was called out first out of all 45 applicants Ü. checked everything and made sure that everything was correct. we were told that we need to do that and if we find any errors, they will be able to correct it that same day. and if everything is good, we can leave. i double and triple checked mine to make sure that it's perfect. and it was. so i left the room as a brand new US citizen.
i was really impressed with my whole experience. my whole processing time, from when they received my application to interview/oath ceremony is a whopping 3.5 months!!!
well, i 'ope my interview/oath experience will be of help. i tried to be as detailed as possible of what happened to give you guys an idea of what to expect when it's your turn. well, good luck to everyone. i will definitely still be around to help answer questions that i know the answers to. this forum is very informative and it's because of everyone sharing their knowledge and experiences for everyone's information.